Pakistan looks forward for free trade with EU: Zardari
President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan looks forward for a comprehensive free trade Agreement with the European Union and a solid, multidimensional and comprehensive partnership with the international community and just not the donor-recipient relationship.
He said this during a dinner meeting with the ambassadors of some FoDP countries at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Saturday night. The ambassadors present during the dinner included among others Daniel Jouanneau of France, Ali Saif Sultan Al Awani of UAE, Chihiro Atsumi of Japan, Mustafa Babur Hizlan of Turkey, Adam Thomson of United Kingdom and Choi Choong-Joo of Korea.Ambassador Ms. Robin Raphel, Coordinator for E&D Assistance USA and Engin Soysal, UNSGR were also present. Talking with the Ambassadors, the President said that war against terror on one hand and the recent devastating floods on the other have created a situation that needs to be addressed through a joint effort. We hardly had our economy started showing signs of recovery when it was hit hard by the recent calamity and this was a situation that no country could handle on its own without proactive assistance from the international community, he said. The President said the government is thankful to United Nations and other friends who pleaded their case and invited the attention of the international community towards countless miseries of the people of Pakistan.
Discussing the flood situation and rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, the President said that the government is mobilizing all available domestic resources including imposition of a onetime flood tax on the well to do people in order to generate indigenous resources. Welcoming Summit level dialogues with the European Union, the President said Pakistan desires to have a comprehensive partnership and that the Summit level interaction should be on a regular basis rather than ad-hoc.
Bryan brothers beat Qureshi- Bopanna in US Open doubles final
The Bryan brothers have won their ninth Grand Slam title, derailing the Indo-Pak Express doubles team of Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and India’s Rohan Bopanna in the men’s doubles final at the US Open.
Bob and Mike Bryan captured their third title at Flushing Meadows and 65th overall with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) victory Friday in a match in which neither team broke serve. Improving to 9-for-9 in doubles finals this year, the Bryans made a record 17th Slam doubles finals appearance against the determined Grand Slam doubles final debutantes.
Ambassadors from India and Pakistan, neighboring countries with a decades-long history of tension, attended the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Bopanna and Qureshi have been playing together since 2003, though the story of their attempt to promote peace through sports has gathered more steam in the past few months.
Medvedev ”mouthpiece” of Iran enemies: Ahmadinejad
July 24, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dubbed his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev the “mouthpiece” of Iran”s enemies, in the latest tirade born of rising differences between Tehran and Moscow.
“In a meeting with his ambassadors, Medvedev said we have knowledge that Iran is moving towards the bomb,” Ahmadinejad was shown saying in footage broadcast by state television on Saturday.
“We regret that Medvedev has become the mouthpiece for the plans of Iran”s enemies,” the Iranian president said in the footage filmed at a gathering in Tehran on Friday.
gaza
May 28, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Two cargo ships and five smaller boats loaded with thousands of tonnes of supplies and hundreds of passengers steamed towards a rendezvous point off the Cyprus coast where they planned to regroup before setting out for the Palestinian territory.
Organisers said an eighth ship, the Rachel Corrie that had left from Ireland, was lagging behind and would travel towards Gaza separately.
The ships will meet in international waters, they said. “The Cypriot government does not want us to leave from Cyprus. I can only assume pressure was put on them,” said Audrey Bomse, one of the coordinators.
A Cyprus government official said of the flotilla that Cyprus had not received any formal request from the Palestinian Authority for humanitarian aid.
Israel earlier told the ambassadors of Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, and Ireland — the countries from which the ships set sail — it “issued warrants that prohibit the entrance of the vessels to Gaza” and that the flotilla would be breaking international law.
Israel made it clear it intends to halt the vessels and detain the hundreds of people aboard in the port of Ashdod before deporting them.
Bomse suggested this may just be “sabre rattling.”
“We are planning on getting there and staying in Gaza for two days,” she said.
But Israel has stepped up its warnings in recent days and readied naval forces.
Organisers dismissed the claim that their blockade-busting bid is illegal.
“Most despicably of all, Israel claims that we are violating international law by sailing unarmed ships carrying humanitarian aid to a people desperately in need,” the Free Gaza Movement said in a statement.
“These claims only demonstrate how degenerate the political discourse in Israel has become.”
Israel imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza in 2007 after Hamas — an Islamist movement committed to the destruction of Israel — violently seized power in the impoverished, overcrowded Palestinian territory.
Thailand recalls envoy from Cambodia
November 6, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Thailand and Cambodia recalled their ambassadors from each others’ countries, deepening a diplomatic row after Cambodia made fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser.
The tit-for-tat spat threatens to worsen a political crisis in Thailand by giving Thaksin and his red-shirted anti-government supporters an ally just across the border, causing a diplomatic embarrassment for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
It also suggests deepening enmity between leaders of the two countries after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen soured the start of an Asian summit hosted by Abhisit last month by turning up and offering Thaksin the job of adviser.
“We will also review all of the agreements between the two countries along with any other cooperation with them,” Chavanont added.
Asif Zardari arrived Italy
September 29, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
President Asif Zardari has arrived in Rome for a three-day visit where he will meet with Italian leaders as well as Pope Benedict XVI.
Zardari was welcomed at Rome-Ciampino military airport by Italy’s Ambassador to Pakistan Vincenzo Prati and Pakistan’s representative in Italy Tasnim Aslam, the airport news agency reported.
Zardari is scheduled to meet with Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Speaker of the Lower House of parliament Gianfranco Fini, sources said.
Pakistani President’s visit will focus on the possibilities for boosting economic cooperation and trade between Italy and Pakistan.
Zardari will also meet with Pope Benedict in the Vatican.
Asif Zardari arrived Italy was first posted on September 29, 2009 at 12:16 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.
OIC Connecticut Group stress solution of Kashmir
September 29, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
OIC Connecticut Group stress solution of Kashmir, OIC Connecticut Group in a resolution approved in its meeting demanded giving right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir and declared that this was the only solution of Kashmir issue.
In a meeting held here, OIC Connecticut Group, endorsing the justified demand of the people of Kashmir, assured full support. Condemning in strongest terms rampant human rights violation in held Kashmir, the Group urged that the issue of Kashmir should be resolved in accordance with the UNO resolutions and Shimla Agreement.
The group welcomed the Sharmul Sheikh understanding reached between the Pak-India prime ministers, which said that both countries should explore the solution of their problems through talks.
Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mir Waiz Umar Farugue, Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Quraishi, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister, Sardar Yaqub besides the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Nigeria also attended the meeting.
OIC Connecticut Group stress solution of Kashmir was first posted on September 29, 2009 at 12:39 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.
